German defense companies Diehl Defence and POLARIS have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement to develop a state-of-the-art unmanned strike platform that will be able to carry IRIS-T missiles.
Germany Makes Huge Strides
In a joint statement during the Paris Air Show 2025, the CEOs of the two companies announced that the POLARIS unmanned aircraft under development will be equipped with Diehl’s well-known IRIS-T air-to-air missiles.
The unmanned aircraft, which is said to fly at hypersonic speeds – even close to space – is called AirLAS (Airborne Launch and Attack System). When operational, it is expected to upgrade the air defense capabilities of any country that operates it.
According to POLARIS, the idea for AirLAS was born out of gaps in today’s conventional air defense systems and networks. Ground-based air and missile defense systems cannot provide complete coverage against all incoming air threats.
AirLAS was born to fill these gaps. German POLARIS is developing it as a low-cost mobile solution that will launch Diehl’s combat-proven IRIS-T missiles.
So far, it is known that AirLAS will land and take off from conventional airstrips, but it is possible that in the future the company will also develop a naval version of the platform for use on aircraft carriers or other warships with large flight decks.
POLARIS is expected to conduct the first test flights of the platform later this year.
Essentially, the AirLAS will be an unmanned aircraft, which will have a dual purpose. On the one hand, it will take off as an air defense vehicle, that is, to intercept incoming missiles, drones and aircraft (as an interceptor), and on the other hand, to attack enemy aerial targets (as a fighter).
In the future, the drone could accompany the FCAS, the 6th generation fighter being developed by the French, Germans and Spanish.
